THRISSUR l wednesday l july 17, 2024 l `9.00 l PAGES 12 l city EDITION Byju’s faces insolvency process for failure to pay D158.9 cr to BCCI The Bengaluru bench of the National Company Law Tribunal on Tuesday admitted BCCI’s plea against the Byju Raveendran-led ed-tech firm Firm’s Board suspended, assets frozen Will settle matter amicably, says Byju’s The tribunal appointed Pankaj Srivastava as interim resolution professional, suspending the firm’s board of directors. Srivastava will be in charge of running the firm till the lenders form the Committee of Creditors. The firm’s assets will remain frozen while the proceedings continue. BCCI filed the plea last year against Byju’s parent Think & Learn Pvt Ltd for defaulting on dues ■ The case pertains to the dispute around the sponsorship rights of the Indian cricket team’s jerseys. Byju’s said it wishes to reach an amicable settlement with BCCI. “Despite this order, a settlement can be reached,” it stated ■ Sources said Byju’s lawyers are reviewing the NCLT order and they are likely to challenge it before the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal | P10 $22 billion Once India’s most valued start-up, Byju’s valuation has gone below $3 bn CHENNAI ■ MADURAI ■ VIJAYAWADA ■ BENGALURU ■ KOCHI ■ HYDERABAD ■ VISAKHAPATNAM ■ COIMBATORE ■ KOZHIKODE ■ THIRUVANANTHAPURAM ■ BELAGAVI ■ BHUBANESWAR ■ SHIVAMOgGA ■ MANGALURU ■ TIRUPATI ■ TIRUCHY ■ TIRUNELVELI ■ SAMBALPUR ■ HUBBALLI ■ DHARMAPURI ■ KOTTAYAM ■ KANNUR ■ VILLUPURAM ■ KOLLAM ■ TADEPALLIGUDEM ■ NAGAPATTINAM ■ THRISSUR ■ KALABURAGI Capt, 3 jawans killed in encounter Panel gets 37K suggestions for NTA revamp Joint search operations by Army and J&K Police in Desa forest area of Doda dist attacked Capt followed the call of duty, says proud dad E x p r ess Ne w s S e r v i c e @ New Delhi CLEAR guidelines on grace marks, what rules will apply in case of any lapse during examinations, proper communication about change in schedules, and infrastructure checks at exam centres are among the 37,000odd suggestions received by the highlevel panel tasked to review the functioning of the National Testing Agency (NTA). The government-appointed panel, headed by former CBI makes ISRO chief R Radtwo more h a k r i s h n a n , re arrests ceived suggestions The CBI has from a cross-section arrested two of stakeholders inpersons cluding students, including Pankaj parents, coaching Kumar alias institutions, school Aditya, a 2017- teachers, academic batch civil institutions, and engineer from even career counselthe National lors. The Centre had Institute of formed the panel afTechnology ter controversies Jamshedpur, erupted over the who allegedly c o n d u c t o f t h e stole the NEET- NEET-UG exam, inUG paper from cluding paper leak the NTA trunk in allegations, and arHazaribagh, bitrary award of Jharkhand grace marks. The panel has been tasked with recommending reforms in the examination process, enhancing data security protocols and reviewing the structure and operations of the NTA. It has two months to file its report. Bulk of the suggestions came from students, who expressed concerns about several aspects of the examination process. Key issues highlighted include the need for clear guidelines regarding grace marks and examination centre infrastructure. Some suggestions called for eliminating the normalisation process altogether. B a l a C h a u h a n @ Bengaluru (Clockwise from top-left) Captain Brijesh Thapa, Sepoy Bijendra, NK (OFC) Dokkari Rajesh and Sepoy Ajay Kumar Singh, who were killed in the Doda district encounter; and jawans carry the mortal remains of Sepoy Bijendra | PTI Jammu terror July 16: 4 soldiers, including a Captain killed in gunfight in Desa forest of Doda July 8: Militants ambush Army convoy in Madeshi area of Kathua, killing five soldiers and injuring five others July 7: Soldier injured in militant attack on Army camp at Manjkote in Rajouri June 26: 3 Pakistani militants killed in encounter in Gandoh, Doda June 10-11: 2 Pak militants killed in two-day encounter in Hira Nagar area close to IB in Kathua. One CRPF man also killed June 12: Policeman injured in encounter at Kota Top area in Gandoh in Doda district June 11: Militants attack Army’s Temporary Operating Base in Chattargalla area of Doda, injuring five soldiers and policeman June 9: Militants attack pilgrim bus in Reasi, killing 9 persons and injuring 43 others F aya z W a n i @ Srinagar Eight days after five soldiers were gunned down in an ambush on their convoy in Kathua, four Army men, including a Captain were killed in an overnight gunfight with militants in the mountainous Doda district of Jammu and Kashmir. Jammu-based defence spokesman Lt Colonel Suneel Bartwal said a joint operation was launched by Army and J&K Police at Dhari Gote Urarbagi in Desa forest area in Doda district on Monday evening after receiving inputs about the presence of a group of militants there. “The search party established contact with the hiding militants in the forest area around 8.40 pm. In the militant firing, a Captain and three soldiers were injured,” he said, adding there was a brief exchange of gunfire. All the injured were evacuated to military hospital, where they succumbed to injuries. The deceased were identified as Captain Brijesh Thapa, Naik D Rajesh, sepoy Bijendra and sepoy Ajay . The militants, taking advan- Debunking popular notion, Kerala spends peanuts on booze and fags Percentage break-up of Keralites' consumption expenditure (2022-23) Category Rural Urban FOOD 39.10 36.01 Cereals 2.96 2.52 Vegetables 3.37 2.75 Egg, Fish, Meat 9.21 7.11 NON-FOOD 60.90 63.99 Alcohol, tobacco 1.88 1.37 Education 2.81 4.08 Medical (Hospitalisation) 6.57 5.80 Conveyance 11.52 10.61 Entertainment 1.51 1.66 Durable goods 11.06 11.97 * Only some items are mentioned under each category M S V i d ya n a n d a n @ T’Puram Would you believe it? The spend on liquor and tobacco in an average Keralite’s home budget is peanuts! And not just that. The Household Consumption Expenditure Survey for 2022-23 has more surprises in store. People’s spending on liquor and tobacco in the state has come down over the years! As per the survey, residents in rural Kerala spent 1.87% of their total household expenditure on liquor and tobacco and those in urban areas 1.37%. The national average for rural and urban areas is 3.70% and 2.41% respectively Kerala has the sec. ond-lowest spending on intoxicants in the country Among all . states and UTs, the highest spending for rural areas is in Andaman and Nicobar (9.08%) and for urban areas Arunachal Pradesh (6.51%). The lowest spending for rural areas is in Goa (1.52%) and for urban areas Maharashtra (1.14%). In the previous edition of the survey held in 2011-12, Keralites’ spending on liquor and tobacco was 2.68% for rural areas and 1.87% for urban areas. A comparison of the two survey reports reveal certain changes in people’s consumption pattern. The share of food items in total expenditure saw a decline — from 42.99% in 2012 to 39.10% now for rural areas and 36.97% to 36.01% for urban ● More on P4 areas.  census report 845 wild jumbo deaths in state in 9 yrs E x p r ess Ne w s S e r v i c e @ T’Puram Calling for urgent measures to conserve the wild elephant population in Kerala, the latest inter-state census showed a significant increase in jumbo death rate in nearly a decade. Between 2015 and 2023, 845 elephant deaths were recorded in Kerala’s forests. The study identified highest mortality rate — around 40% — among elephants aged under 10. In an effort to prevent a rise in mortality, the study called for a protocol similar to the one developed by Tamil Nadu -- TN elephant death audit framework (EDAF). Measures to address human-animal conflicts have also been highlighted by the study According to the cen. sus brought out on Tuesday the , current wild elephant population in the state is 1,793, as against 1,920 in May 2023 (a 7% reduction), with a density of 0.19/km². While there was no significant change in the population in Periyar reserve, (811 in 2023 and 813 in 2024), an increase of 16% was recorded in Nilambur. The census showed substantial decrease in elephant population in the other two elephant reserves -- Wayanad (29%) and Anamudi (12%). The difference in numbers compared to last year is natural and insignificant, since elephants migrate across reserves, based on water and fodder availability. The stable numbers in Periyar and Nilambur could be attributed to the undulating topography along the state border. Periyar offers more potential elephant habitats, compared to neighbouring reserves. The noticeable reduction in Wayanad could be due to climatic conditions like extreme dry seasons and late ● More on P4 summer rain.  tage of low visibility and the thickly forested and mountainous area, managed to escape after the encounter. “Additional troops and equipment have been inducted to track down the terrorists. Drones and other technical resources are being used to pinpoint their movement,” Lt Col Bartwal said. Sources said the elite para commandos have also joined the search operations, assisting the troops on the ground. “It is suspected that a group of four-five militants are hiding in the forest area. There has been no fresh contact with the militants after the initial gunfight,” they said. Doda is one of the heavily forested hilly districts in the Jammu region. Militants are making concerted efforts to shift their operations to the Jammu region from Kashmir. About 50 foreign militants are said to be operating in the Jammu region. J&K Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha condemned the attack, adding “We will avenge the death of our soldiers and thwart the evil designs of terrorists and their associates.” “Brijesh spoke to me last Sunday, July 14, at 9.30 am. He said he had just come down (from the higher reaches where militants are holed up) and that he has been asked to go back to the hills following an intelligence input. He said he would be leaving soon and I asked him to be careful,” Col Bhuwanesh Thapa, father of Captain Brijesh Thapa who died in a gunfight with terrorists in J&K’s Doda district on Monday night, told this newspaper over telephone. Col Thapa learnt about the loss of his son at 10.45 pm on Monday from the Army . “The CO called me and said that Brijesh fought The terrain is well but unfortunately difficult but when there is we lost him. As a former an intel Army officer and father I input, an always stressed upon BrArmy officer ijesh on how to operate has to go in insurgency-hit areas each time he spoke to Col Bhuwanesh Thapa me,” the distraught but proud father said. “I am proud of Brijesh. He fought from the front and gave up his life for the country He didn’t run away It’s a . . hard climb of six to seven hours, where they had to go up,” said Col Thapa. Brijesh is survived by his parents and an elder sister. “He was born in the military hospital in Jalandhar in January 1997. He had applied for short service commission (SSC) and joined the Army as an officer in September 2019 after completing BTech in computer science,” he added. Capt Brijesh’s mortal remains will be brought on Wednesday to his hometown Darjeeling. Indian connection of Trump’s running mate A g e n c i es Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump’s decision to pick his former critic Senator J D Vance as his running mate came as a surprise, but the spotlight seems to be more on the latter’s wife, Usha Chilukuri Vance (38), a devout Hindu with Indian roots. According to US media reports, Usha’s father Radhakrishna and mother Lakshmi ( both professors ) migrated to the US from Chilkur village in Andhra Pradesh’s Godavari district. Some reports say they belong to the Kamma community . Usha and Vance met at Yale Law School and got married in 2014, with a Republican V-P candidate J D Vance separate ceremony that and his wife Usha Chilukuri Vance | ap was blessed by a Hindu pundit. While Vance is a Roman Christian, Usha is a practising Hindu. Both continue to follow their respective faiths after marriage, in a show of pluralism. They have two sons and a daughter. Usha was raised in a suburb of San Diego, California, with a strong emphasis on education and hard work. A law graduate, Usha’s last job was with Munger, Tolles & Olson LLP as civil litigation attorney which she resigned on Monday after her husband was , picked as Trump’s running mate. P9 6 dead as rain wreaks havoc in state all lives matter E x p r ess Ne w s S e r v i c e @ Kochi pIC: E Gokul Amid the desperation to seek safer ground, animals and birds are not to be left behind. (Top) A woman rescues an injured bird that was unable to fly and was stuck in floodwater at Palazhi in Kozhikode. Madhu, a 73-year-old Pandalam native, takes a few puppies that were stranded at the Aluva Mahadeva temple, to safety after water level in Periyar rose following heavy rain pIC: A Sanesh Six people lost their lives as heavy rain continued to lash Kerala for the second consecutive day on Tuesday . The downpour inundated low-lying areas, damaged houses and triggered mudslides in high ranges. Fire and rescue services personnel had their hands full removing uprooted trees that fell on busy roads due to strong wind, and rescuing people caught in rivers in spate. A mother-son duo died following a wall collapse at Kottekad near Vadakkencherry in Palakkad. Sulochana,70, and her son Ranjith, 32, were sleeping when the wall of their one-room house collapsed and fell on them late on Monday night. In separate incidents, two persons drowned in waterlogged paddy fields in Kannur district. The body of Kunhamina, 51, of Mattannur Kolari, was found in the field near her house around 7.30pm on Monday. Chandrasekaran, 63, a painting worker, died after falling into a small canal near a paddy field while returning home after work on Monday night. Two persons were electrocuted after coming into contact with power lines that snapped due to heavy rain in Pathanamthitta and Wayanad districts. Reji, 48, a resident of Mepral, in Pathanamthitta, had gone to collect grass for cattle when the incident occurred on Tuesday morning. Sudhan, 32, of Cheeyambam in Wayanad, was electrocuted on Tuesday afternoon after stepping on a snapped power line while walking through a paddy ● More on P4 field near his house.  Holiday today A holiday has been declared for all educational institutions in Kozhikode, Wayanad, Palakkad, Thrissur, Idukki, Kottayam and Alappuzha. In Kannur, all institutions except colleges will have a holiday. Exams will be held as per schedule.